%20(1).png)
Middle Grade Sidekick Super Review: The Teacher of Nomad Land (2025) by Daniel Nayeri
The Basics
Page Length: 192
Audiobook Length: ~3.5 hours
Grade Reading Level: 3+
Target Audience Age: 8-12+
Goodreads Score: 4.13 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: Iran, 1941 WWII
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction
Topics: WWII, Family, Orphans, Survival, Education, Language, Refugees, Nomads, Adventure, Courage
Plot: It's 1941 in Iran, and thirteen-year-old Babak and his eight-year-old sister, Sana, are orphans with nowhere to go. The war has taken their parents. After being separated and sent to live with different relatives, the two are determined to find their way back to each other.
Eventually, they run away into the mountains, hoping to find refuge with a group of nomads. Babak brings along his father's books and chalkboard, hoping he can follow in his father's footsteps and become a teacher. Maybe he can use what he knows to earn a place for himself and Sana.
But life in the mountains isn't quite what they expected. Soon, the siblings find themselves navigating a dangerous world of unfamiliar people, language barriers, and a war that seems to be closing in around them--and in situations where their father's lessons come in handy! Maybe his father's lessons can do more than just earn him a place to stay. Maybe they can help save their lives.
Can Babak find a way to use his knowledge to help them survive? Will he and Sana ever find a place to call home? And is being useful really what makes someone worthy of belonging?
Themes: Sibling devotion and sacrifice, cultural/language barriers and finding common ground, survival in wartime, the importance and power of education
You might like this book if you like:
Studying other languages
Reading
Traveling/Hiking/Camping
Books like: When Stars are Scattered, We are Wolves, A Place to Hang the Moon, The Night War, Brother's Keeper
Shows like: Anne with an E, A Small Light, All the Light We Cannot See (also a book)
Movies like: (many of these are also books) The Breadwinner, The Book Thief, The Zookeeper's Wife, The Railway Children Return, Queen of Katwe, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Lion
Other books written by this author: Everything Sad is Untrue, The Many Assassinations of Samir, Seller of Dreams; Another Faust
Teaching The Teacher of Nomad Land in Class
Content
Language: None
Sex/Romance: None
Violence/Scariness: There is quite a bit of "scariness" in this novel. The two main characters are kids wandering through the wilderness alone. They are held captive for a bit by a soldier. A kid is stabbed. A character is thrown off a cliff.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: None
Class Novel-ability: I think this would be an excellent choice for a full-class novel! It's short and sweet, action-packed, and moves at a quick pace. There are TONS of themes to choose from and explore as a class, giving teachers plenty of opportunities for meaningful discussion. With both a girl and a boy protagonist, there's a little something for everyone. It has broad appeal, plenty of interesting discussion points, and a story that will keep students engaged. This is a great pick for a whole-class novel!
The Star Qualities
Relatable, inspirational characters. Babak and Sana are children on their own, navigating a war-torn world — IN THE WILDERNESS! With one boy protagonist and one girl protagonist, there's a little something for everyone. They're determined, funny, brave, and clever. They're the kind of characters students can see themselves in while also recognizing traits they aspire to develop. They're easy to root for!
A fresh perspective on World War II. This is a WWII story, but from a perspective that's often overlooked. The story takes place in Iran, a country caught in the middle of a war being fought by soldiers from all over the world. Different armies, different languages, different cultures — all colliding in one unfamiliar place. The language barriers alone lead to confusion, chaos, and heartbreaking misunderstandings. It's a side of World War II that I hadn't really learned about before, and I found that perspective incredibly fresh and intriguing. I think students would, too!
An author worth getting to know! Daniel Nayeri has written several STELLAR books for young readers, including books that could make excellent class novels. He's known for exploring Iranian culture, identity, and belonging — themes that are often influenced by his own experiences as an Iranian immigrant. He's a wonderful, almost magical storyteller who has so much to offer young readers. His books are thoughtful, touching, memorable, and full of opportunities for students to learn about the world beyond their own experiences.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read chapter 1 (p. 1-7)
If you don't, read the same pages (location 94 - location 141) in the Kindle reading sample here.
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
I love this passage because of its unique sentence structure! It's filled with one-word sentences, short fragments, choppy descriptions, and unconventional sentence construction. I especially love the dramatic paragraph breaks and use of white space to control the pacing. It's a really intense scene, and so much of that intensity comes from the author's deliberate choices about how to structure the sentences. This is a great example of how sentence structure can do so much more than communicate information. It can actually make readers FEEL the action! There are lots of fun techniques here for students to experiment with in their own writing.
I love the urgency in this passage! The author slowly reveals what's happening to build suspense, using lots of repetition, short sentence fragments, one-line sentences, and dramatic paragraph breaks. The repetition creates an almost frantic rhythm that makes the whole scene feel tense and chaotic. It's a great example of how sentence structure can make readers FEEL the action!
I love this passage because the author uses lists and repetition to communicate really deep, complex emotions. The rhythm builds momentum, emotion, and drama, and I especially love the final word, Sana, isolated with thastrikethroughgh formatting. It's such a powerful, almost theatrical moment! Between the creative formatting, dramatic pacing, and strong language, there's a lot here for students to experiment with. It's a great example of how to write with feeling and really pack a punch!
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"But all he can do is save his money in a canister he hides behind a loose stone in the alley behind the grocery." (p. 19)
All he can do is save his money.
He saved his money in a canister.
He hides the canister behind a loose stone.
The loose stone is in the alley.
The alley is behind the grocery.
"After a long evening of hiking, when they’re sore, and their tongues loll in their mouths desperate with thirst, as the sun gutters behind a hill, they finally spot a spring-fed channel of cold, clear water down in a narrow valley." (p. 103)
They are sore.
Their tongues loll in their mouths, desperate with thirst.
The sun glitters behind a hill.
They finally spot spring-fed channel.
The channel is filled with cold, clear water.
The channel is down in a narrow valley.
"A businessman bought all the candy from a candy cart and passed it to us–brittles, nougat, pralines." (p. 127)
A businessman bought all the candy.
The candy was from a candy cart.
He passed it to us.
He passed us brittles.
He passed us nougat.
He passed us pralines.
"They slept in a clearing midway up a slope, with the path meandering around craggy hills." (p. 143)
They slept in a clearing.
The clearing was midway up a slope.
The path was meandering.
It meandered around craggy hills.
Sentences for Imitation:
"He only knows Baba, who was killed--said Traveler the Nomad--when a British soldier mistook a group of goatherds on a mountainside as resistance fighters crouching in wait to ambush their envoy." (p. 2)
"That is the teacher's job--to make the world understandable in parts." (p. 19)
"When he opens his eyes, he sees a man standing in front of him–tall, sneering, red-faced, knife-in-hand, foxlike, long nose, no beard, no hat stranger." (p. 67)
"Teaching isn't anything like delivering groceries. There isn't a tidy box of knowledge to hand over. And you don't know where to take it or if the person wants it or has any use for it at the moment or will ever thank you when you do." (p. 151)
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
Want to be updated when our next book review comes out? Subscribe here for weekly posts featuring fresh book reviews with brand-new sentences and passages. Your inbox’s new favorite destination for new YA reading and writing inspiration!
Comments